The history of this blog is ...
It started as a diary of starting my own public relations agency - POP! Public Relations.
I changed it to Jots and commentary, opinions and views on PR, publicity and issues therein.
And now, it's about public relations and social media and the hope for change, moving forward with and within the industries.

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

The shooting happened yesterday morning, and while I did not know the three men well, I have friends that were in their class and the news hit them pretty hard.

Shootings and death are a private thing. People should be able to mourn in private, and not have cameras shoved in their face. On the flip-side, the so-called "close neighbors" and "close friends" that crawl out from under their rocks to appear on television are sickening, dregs of society.

Yes, I understand the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality for television news, and I have many friends that are television producers in Arizona. But, do we really need to profit from death, or let people whore themselves?

On to another interesting aspect of the killing. The accused's family put out a statement that had "attorney" written all over it. Yes, I believe that attorneys and public relations have a place in such a tragic event - particularly PR, that can be a buffer against the press - but try to make it look natural and not so unfeeling and stilted.

Monday, April 26, 2004

It's an interesting article for a couple things - the comment made by Jeff Hicks, president of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the wonderful creators of Burger King's Subservient Chicken - the porn chicken that has received 150M hits. Hicks comments that "All this is a reaction to the fact that traditional media marketing is crumbling, just crumbling."

Which should give us PR people something to mull over. If the traditional media marketing is crumbling, what does that say for the content? The Chinese Wall between advertising and editorial seems to be crumbling, being led by television's full-frontal attack to incorporate sponsors' products into everything.

POP! Public Relations has always been a big proponent of satellite media tours, which also cross that line of advertorial sometimes. Those SMTs are pitched to morning television shows, and come across as third-party endorsements.

Plus, POP! has always been a big believer in the different outreach programs - guerrilla campaigns work, but they do cost money. Recently, a client came to me and wanted to spend very little money on outreach for a new product (there was no money budgeted for the product). My thought was to make a cut-out of the logo and go tagging throughout Tempe (but with water-soluble paint). You'd create a buzz, and not get into any trouble because water would get rid of the graffiti.

The campaigns referenced in the article are interesting, and are doing what they need to - getting the word out. But, how quickly passe are they going to become when every company tries to do the same thing?

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

And, naturally, every news outlet has picked up the AP story and is covering this story and comparing it to the rising prices of gasoline.

Let's be realistic - how many people are going to notice the 10 - 15 cent rise in ice cream? Is this going to lead to a big rush in ice cream purchasing today and the rest of the week? Are the ice cream deprived going to be out in the streets screaming for blood and revenge? Or will it be a replay of the 70's, with long lines at Cold Stone Creamery and 31 Flavors where we wait for the next shipment to come in ... oh, wait, that was for gasoline.

Although, on a pure PR standpoint, POP! Public Relations does respect the efforts and the massive coverage that has been generated.

Monday, April 19, 2004

While the death of Mr. Cantalupo is very sad indeed, this is going to be a huge test for both internal McDonald's corporate communications team and Golin-Harris, the AOR for Mickey D's.

This is a major test for Golin. They mishandled Mad Cow, and had to be rescued by Burson Marsteller, who handled the majority of Mad Cow work for the beef industry and lead the PR offense campaign.

Can Golin step it up for McDonald's? It's going to be an interesting PR session to watch - here you have the CEO of a company that just introduced a healthy menu for a fast-food icon that is continously attacked for being unhealthy. And, then less than a month later, he falls dead from a heart attack.

Plus, this has to make the powers that be in Golin HQ a little nervous. IPG is going through shakeups, and rumours have been floated that the Golin brand may be on the chopping block - sorta why MWW distanced itself with Golin in the latest IPG annual report. If Golin messes this one up, they might as well kiss their tushies goodbye.

About Me

Using Usenet and online enthusiast sites - now called blogs or social networks - for campaigns when he started, Pepper incorporates online tactics to traditional strategies. Pepper has worked with a who's who of Fortune 500 companies, ranging from consumer tech to consumer packaged goods to high tech, providing integrated communications counsel to such companies as Kodak, Clorox, Cisco, GM, Mobile 1, HP, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Campbell's Soup, amongst others.

Pepper began his blog more than 8 years ago, and continues to be an early adopter of social media, understanding how it works in the real-world.

In his spare time, Pepper enjoys yoga, Pilates and boxing, can be found eating PB&J sandwiches or hamburgers and is the lone figure walking in LA.